County's Loss Nets Attorney Big Fee

Goldstein filed a class-action lawsuit more than two years ago on behalf of thousands of motorists who were forced to pay $25 fees if they rescheduled their traffic-ticket hearings.

A judge ultimately ruled in favor of Goldstein and his clients, and now the attorney will receive $421,823 in fees for his trouble.

The clients? They will be getting refunds of $25 or less in most cases.

Goldstein got the large fee because attorneys in class-action lawsuits traditionally are awarded a percentage of what they win, rather than getting paid by the hour.

Goldstein was awarded 25 percent of all the fees the county had collected, plus interest; appellate lawyers got another 5 percent. The amounts were set by Circuit Judge Miette Burnstein, who presided over the case.

"We're concerned with attorneys that make excessive fees in those cases," said Paul Friedman, program counsel to HALT -a national legal reform group.

But Friedman added "there is some justification" for large attorney fees in class-action cases. If the lawyer loses, he may make nothing. So the attorney's fee must be attractive in order to make the risk worthwhile, Friedman said.

"I did a lot of work on it," Goldstein said. "They were fighting it all the way. How many other lawyers would fight something like this?''

The lawsuit was filed in February 1994 by Ruth Michaelson on behalf of herself and others who had been charged the fee when they asked for new court dates on which to contest their traffic citations.

"My father was in the hospital, and I couldn't show up," Michaelson, of Pembroke Pines, recalled on Wednesday. "I'm glad we did win. I would like to see everybody get their money back. I'm glad I had a good lawyer."

This week, the County Commission approved spending $526,323 from its general fund to pay Goldstein's legal fees and other legal fees and costs in connection with the lawsuit. The county is required to pay because it lost the case.

The reset fee was created through an administrative order of Broward Chief Judge Dale Ross in June 1992. It was subsequently part of an ordinance passed by the County Commission.

After Michaelson sued, Burnstein ruled that neither Ross nor the commission had the authority to impose the fee. The county appealed to no avail.

Nearly $1.3 million was paid in reset fees before the county quit collecting them. That's roughly 52,000 fees paid by somewhat fewer motorists, assuming some people with multiple citations paid the fee more than once. With interest, the class-action fund has grown to nearly $1.7 million.

Goldstein also was awarded $20,000 for court costs and to advertise in local newspapers the conditions of the fee refund. He said he will do so soon.

People who think they are entitled to refunds will be asked to provide proof, such as the case number, their name and address, either in person or by mail to the clerk of the courts office, traffic and misdemeanor division, Broward County Courthouse, 201 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301.

If everybody entitled to a refund claimed it, they probably would receive about $22 each. That's unlikely, however, because some people have moved away and others will be unaware of the refunds.

Any money left after refunds are paid will revert back to the county.

"The county will get a windfall from the people who don't come in and collect," Goldstein said.